Monday, 12 June 2017

World Burger Tour Launch at Hard Rock Cafe London

Last week I made my first visit to the London branch of The Hard Rock Cafe (well... its Back Room location just across the road) for the launch of their brand new World Burger Tour menu. Offering four unique burgers with flavours from across the globe, and matching cocktails to boot, this is a super fun addition to their existing offerings for any burger lovers who want to try something new and unique.

The Back Room was decked out with flags from around the globe with dedicated tables for the four nations we'd be visiting that night through the medium of meaty sliders: the USA, the UK, Colombia and South Korea. The guests of honour were each displayed in all their glory as we arrived, so we could see and photograph them before trying small versions of each. Mini sliders may sound like they wouldn't be super filling but let me tell you, four of these meat-heavy burgers still add up and we were properly stuffed by the end of the night.

English Breakfast Burger

The first burger to be wheeled out for the reviewers and bloggers in attendance to sample was of course the one from home soil: The UK. What is the first thing you think of when it comes to British food? Scones? Hmmm... what about the second? Perhaps an English breakfast? Nailed it. Baked beans and black pudding aside (thankfully), the first burger presented a full English with layers of succulent medium-rare burger meat, bacon, breakfast sausage, egg, and Portobello mushroom encased in a delicious bun. Yum. You can wake me up for this one!

Colombian Plantain Burger

The second burger of the night was one I wasn't too sure about on paper but turned out to be my absolute favourite we got to try. With flavours originating from Cartagena in Columbia, the burger was topped with bacon, caramelised onions, garlic aioli, Monterey Jack cheese, molasses and fried plantain. A strange combination on the surface perhaps, but the sweet and savoury flavour explosion was inspired and the slight chewyness of the plantain added an interesting texture to the dish. We were only two burgers in and I'd already found my winner of the night and perhaps a new all-time favourite (move aside chicken, Camembert and cranberry from GBK).

Jambalaya Burger

Inspired by New Orleans in the USA I was expecting fried and spicy deliciousness and that is exactly what we got. This burger was filled with pickles, pepper jack cheese, Andouille sausage, Cajun mayonnaise and topped with a Jambalaya rice cake. I loved the sauce and spiceyness of this burger, providing a nice kick to keep us going for another few sliders. The one thing I felt unsure about was the texture of the rice cake. Interesting in its own right and great as an addition on the plate, however within the burger it did not quite work. I decided to take it out and eat it separately and that was delish.

Kimchi Burger

Last but not least was perhaps the most out there burger for our Western taste palette and that was the one with flavours from Seoul in South Korea. This time around the juicy beef burger was complimented by traditional accompaniments of lettuce, tomato and spicy mayo in addition to kimchi and bulgogi sauce. We were warned this one had a real kick to it (originally even more so but they had to tone it down) and so I prepared myself for the worst... but nothing happened. The flavours were nice, don't get me wrong, but I didn't taste even a hint of spiceyness (I'd go so far as to say that the cajun mayo on the previous burger had more of a kick to it). I'm not sure if it was just my burger and the kimchi on it, but while it was nice, it wasn't super flavoursome and so compared to some of the other burgers we had the chance to try, it felt somewhat lacking.

If I have to rate the burgers in order of preference, my number one vote goes to Colombia (a shiny gold star for that one) followed by the UK, US and finally South Korea. I didn't dislike the last burger (it'd still be a solid 3 stars on a 1-5 scale), but in comparison to the other three I found it taste plain. Maybe it's because my kimchi didn't have a kick to it as promised, or maybe it was because it was the last burger I tried on the night. Either way, it's the Colombian Plantain Burger that was my unrivaled favourite because the flavour and texture combination was inspired ♥

World Burger Tour is running at Hard Rock Cafe for a limited time only so make sure you visit between now and 25 June to try one or all of the international-inspired burgers in this blog!

Many thanks to Love Pop Ups - London for the opportunity to attend the World Burger Tour launch at Hard Rock Cafe. I had a blast and it was great meeting some awesome fellow reviewers from the group on the night. Here's to many more outings 😊

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Hi there! I'm a London-based blogger (originally from the Netherlands) and I blog about books, travel, arts & culture, and other things I get up to! I'm PR-friendly and love to discover new brands, destinations and more, so do give me a shout on pagetostagereviews@gmail.com if you want to work together. Have a look at my social channels below to connect and let's have a chat!